Julie's Review: Dreams of Joy

Summary: See's Dreams of Joy picks up the story of sisters Pearl and May where Shanghai Girls left off: on the night in 1957 when Pearl's daughter, Joy, discovers that May is her true mother. While Shanghai Girls followed the sisters from their time as models in the glittering "Paris of Asia" to their escape from the Japanese invasion and their new life in Los Angeles, its sequel sends Pearl back to Shanghai twenty years later in pursuit of Joy, whose flight to China is propelled by anger, idealism, and a desire to find her true father, Z.G., an artist who may be falling out of favor with the Party. Joy goes with him deep into the countryside to the Green Dragon commune, where they take part in the energetic inception of Mao’s Great Leap Forward. But their collective dream of a communist paradise is soon overshadowed by hunger as the government’s bizarre agricultural mandates create a massive, relentless famine. Pearl, trapped in Shanghai as travel restrictions tighten, has little idea of the hardship Joy endures--until both women realize they must subvert a corrupt system in order to survive. The best estimates put the death toll from China’s Great Leap Forward at 45 million, and See is unflinching in her portrayal of this horrific episode. In clean prose, she gives us a resounding story of human resilience, independent spirits, and the power of the love between mothers and daughters. ~amazon.com

Review: When I finished Shanghai Girls a couple years ago, I was desperate for the story to continue. So you can imagine how excited I was when I heard Lisa See was doing a sequel and even more excited when I received an ARC of Dreams of Joy from Library Thing's Early Reviewers. I wanted to continue on the journey with Pearl, May and Joy.

Dreams of Joy doesn't disappoint and it picks up exactly where Shanghai Girls has left off. Joy, is a strong-willed, self-centered, self-righteous 19 year old; so when her life is torn apart by secrets her family has kept, she runs off to the People's Republic of China. In China, she hopes to discover her birth father and join the revolution of building the country. Like most 19 year olds, Joy is naive and idealistic so she has no real idea of what to expect when she arrives. She easily locates her father Z.G. and he takes her to the countryside where he is to teach art to the peasants. It is here that Joy feels her calling to make changes in her life. She falls for a local boy, Tao; whom she eventually marries. She is caught up in the romantic ideals of a a New China that she doesn't see what is going on around her until it's almost too late.

Pearl, of course, follows Joy to China. Except the road isn't so easily paved for her as it seems to be for Joy. She has to demonstrate her loyalty to Chairman Mao and the New China. She has to denounce her "western" ways. She becomes a street cleaner and hopes to be in Shanghai when Joy returns from the countryside.

There is much that happens in the 3 years this book takes place from a historical standpoint but also from a character development/growth perspective. I always amazed at the length of history in China! The U.S. is such a baby country compared to China.

I must say Joy grew on me throughout the book. I definitely did not like her during the first half of the book but she started to change and to open her eyes to the world around her and realize that maybe she'd made a big mistake. Becoming a mother and protecting her daughter is when I finally began to respect her. This is when her views of her mother and aunt begin to change and she begins to understand them.

Pearl also grows throughout the book. She came to China determined to get her daughter back and drag her to the US, what she found was a piece of herself that she had lost 20 years before. Pearl discovers much about herself during her return to her homeland. She learns to love and be loved in a way she never knew. She learns to let go of the past and move forward.

The only thing really missing for me in the book was May's presence. Obviously, I know it was a book about Pearl and Joy but if the ultimate message was that of mother love; then I think May wasn't present enough. I wanted to know more about how the revelation of the family secret changed May. Why didn't she go with Pearl to China? Will she look at Joy differently now that Joy knows the truth? These are things I wanted to know that didn't get answered.

That being said, I found this novel to be extremely moving and emotional. The journey these two women go on together and apart is tremendous. How they find their way back to each other and to themselves is extraordinary.

If you've read Shanghai Girls or if you haven't (you must), then you will definitely enjoy Dreams of Joy. You don't have to read Shanghai Girls to enjoy Dreams of Joy but it will definitely enhance your reading experience.

Ms. See is a tremendous writer who has such a love for her characters and for China. Her books are well researched and well written.

Final Take: 4.5/5

Julie's Review: Shanghai Girls

Summary: May and Pearl, two sisters living in Shanghai in the mid-1930s, are beautiful, sophisticated, and well-educated, but their family is on the verge of bankruptcy. Hoping to improve their social standing, May and Pearl’s parents arrange for their daughters to marry “Gold Mountain men” who have come from Los Angeles to find brides. But when the sisters leave China and arrive at Angel’s Island (the Ellis Island of the West)--where they are detained, interrogated, and humiliated for months--they feel the harsh reality of leaving home. And when May discovers she’s pregnant the situation becomes even more desperate. The sisters make a pact that no one can ever know. A novel about two sisters, two cultures, and the struggle to find a new life in America while bound to the old, Shanghai Girls is a fresh, fascinating adventure from beloved and bestselling author Lisa See. ~amazon.com

Review: Anyone who reads this blog with regularity knows that I'm a big historical fiction fan. Lisa See is my "go to" author when it comes to historical Chinese fiction. Shanghai Girls is the 3rd book of hers that I have read. It does not disappoint. Maybe it's because I'm an older sister but I definitely identified with Pearl more than May. There were moments when I thought May had logical points but overall I found her to be a spoiled, petulant brat, even as an adult. Although, I wonder if I'd feel the same way if she was telling the story. That's why I always think that the voice authors chose to tell their story in can make or break the story.

The book spans over 20 years from Shanghai to Los Angeles. From young women with no cares in the world to women who have to realize that lives are not going to be what they envision. I love historical fiction because I really do always learn something new. I even would stop reading to inform my husband of something, he would nod and I would continue to read. I mean I didn't know that Angel Island even existed! Does it still exist as a tourist attraction like Ellis Island? Yes, it's a State Park.

I'm proud to be an American but man oh man do we have dark spots in our history. The treatment of the Chinese immigrants was deplorable. I didn't even realize that our country had Acts stipulating how many Chinese were allowed to come into the country.

I had no clue about paper sons, paper wives, etc. It amazes me what people will do to get into our great country. The things that they sacrificed to get here and it wasn't always an optional move. I admire these people because frankly I don't know if I could hack it. We as Americans are spoiled. We take our freedom for granted. Books like Shanghai Girls reminds me that it's not always so easy to gain your freedom.

So, yes the book is a history lesson but it's a story of family and the duty you feel to them. It's about how we view ourselves and how other views us and how we get stuck in our ways. It's about fear and living your life within those fears or how you deal with those fears.

The ending of the book was left open ended for a continuation. I loved that it wasn't tied up in a nice neat bow because how many situations in life end up like that? I'm hoping that Ms. See continues this story at some point in her writing career. I must note too that in the 3 books of hers that I have read always have strong female characters. I'm certain that this is what draws me back to her writing.

If you love books about family and history, I encourage you to pick up Shanghai Girls.

Final Take: 4.75/5

Julie's Review: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Summary: See's engrossing novel set in remote 19th-century China details the deeply affecting story of lifelong, intimate friends (laotong, or "old sames") Lily and Snow Flower, their imprisonment by rigid codes of conduct for women and their betrayal by pride and love. While granting immediacy to Lily's voice, See (Flower Net) adroitly transmits historical background in graceful prose. Her in-depth research into women's ceremonies and duties in China's rural interior brings fascinating revelations about arranged marriages, women's inferior status in both their natal and married homes, and the Confucian proverbs and myriad superstitions that informed daily life. Beginning with a detailed and heartbreaking description of Lily and her sisters' foot binding ("Only through pain will you have beauty. Only through suffering will you have peace"), the story widens to a vivid portrait of family and village life. Most impressive is See's incorporation of nu shu, a secret written phonetic code among women—here between Lily and Snow Flower—that dates back 1,000 years in the southwestern Hunan province ("My writing is soaked with the tears of my heart,/ An invisible rebellion that no man can see"). As both a suspenseful and poignant story and an absorbing historical chronicle, this novel has bestseller potential and should become a reading group favorite as well. ~amazon.com

Review: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel is an excellent book about love, friendship and life. We learn Lily's story through her eyes at 80 years old and reflecting back on her life and even though she could paint herself "rosy", I didn't feel like she did. I felt she gave an honest account of her laotong relationship with Snow Flower. This relationship started when they were 7 years old and last their lifetime's. It is an intense and yet innocent relationship when they are younger and only grows into a more mature friendship as the women marry and have children. There are many trials and tribulations for both of the women as we go through the journey of their lives. There are even a few twists and revelations that I didn't see coming.

There were 2 extremely vivid parts in this book for me. The first, is when Ms. See describes in great detail the foot binding process. I literally felt sick to my stomach while reading this and couldn't even imagine the pain these young girls were put through to gain beauty. It's amazing how differences in culture defines beauty. To us Westerners foot binding is seen as a deformity and cruel, but to the Chinese it was a way to gain status and marry into a better family. It was an important stage in a young girl's development.

The second was when Snow Flower and Lily have to retreat to the mountains to outlive a raid on Snow Flower's village as China changes government and people rebel. The descriptions of what happened to them emotionally and physically is astounding. It's amazing what people will persevere through by sheer will.

As with any book about friendship, there was a huge misunderstanding that leaves Lily with much guilt and has her trying to atone for her mistake the rest of her life. I don't want to give away much because well that would ruin the book. I think all women can identify with this to some degree. How many of us have read an email and thought that there was one meaning in it when really the author meant another? I know I have and it lead to a 6 month misunderstanding and miscommunication between my best friend and I. Thank goodness we talked it out but I think these things are quite common. Not only in personal correspondence via email but also business. Email is the 21st century version of Nu Shu in some respects.

Ms. See has a wonderful writing style. Her attention to detail is tremendous and her history research is quite impressive. This is the 2nd book of hers I have read. I previously read Peony in Love: A Novel(Julie's Review) and give that a slight edge over Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel because I found the story a bit more intriguing. That being said I can't wait to find out what Lisa See has in store for her readers next.

Final Take: 4.75/5

Julie's Review: Peony In Love

Summary: Set in 17th-century China, See's fifth novel is a coming-of-age story, a ghost story, a family saga and a work of musical and social history. As Peony, the 15-year-old daughter of the wealthy Chen family, approaches an arranged marriage, she commits an unthinkable breach of etiquette when she accidentally comes upon a man who has entered the family garden. Unusually for a girl of her time, Peony has been educated and revels in studying The Peony Pavilion, a real opera published in 1598, as the repercussions of the meeting unfold. The novel's plot mirrors that of the opera, and eternal themes abound: an intelligent girl chafing against the restrictions of expected behavior; fiction's educative powers; the rocky path of love between lovers and in families. It figures into the plot that generations of young Chinese women, known as the lovesick maidens, became obsessed with The Peony Pavilion, and, in a Werther-like passion, many starved themselves to death. See (Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, etc.) offers meticulous depiction of women's roles in Qing and Ming dynasty China (including horrifying foot-binding scenes) and vivid descriptions of daily Qing life, festivals and rituals. Peony's vibrant voice, perfectly pitched between the novel's historical and passionate depths, carries her story beautifully—in life and afterlife. ~amazon.com

Review: I've never been one for Chinese history, it's just never really interested me but after reading Peony in Love: A Novel my curiosity is peaked. This is a superb, spellbinding novel that has deep seeded roots in Chinese culture and history. I absolutely loved it! I'm so glad I had heard/read different things about it on the web and decided to pick it up one day while my daughter was at storytime. This book is most enchanting. You can't help but love and identify with Peony, the heroine in the book. She's idealistic, romantic, a bit selfish and self-absorbed but truly does grow up in the book. This is another book where I don't want to say too much because it'll ruin the story, but it was beautiful. Lisa See is a gifted writer. Her prose was outstanding and her detail and description of everything really brought you to China and that period of time. I loved how you learned things as Peony learned them. I loved learning about the Chinese traditions, cultures and superstitions. It was truly facinating.

I'm not one to read the "Author's Notes" at the end of the books typically but I wanted to on this one. A tremendous amount of research went into this novel and you could tell how much the story meant to the author. It truly was her passion. I can invision Ms. See doing for Chinese historical fiction what Philippa Gregory has done for English historical fiction...take it to a whole new level. Before I even finished Peony in Love, I ordered Ms. See's other novel Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel and I can't wait to read it.

If you are a fan of historical fiction in any sense, I highly recommend that you read Peony in Love. You won't be disappointed. I certainly was not.

Final Take: 5/5